


Pyrophytic Plants

by moodymarshmallow



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 01:10:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17315234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moodymarshmallow/pseuds/moodymarshmallow
Summary: In an attempt to sooth Caleb after a traumatic use of fireball, Caduceus tells a story about home.





	Pyrophytic Plants

“Mr. Caleb?” 

A voice came from the doorway of the inn room Caleb was sharing with Nott. The gentle tone, coupled with the careful rapping of knuckle on door frame said that the speaker was not intending to startle Caleb, but Caleb started just the same. He jerked his head up from where he had been bent over one of his familiar, well-perused books, and looked swiftly at the door to find Caduceus standing there, ducking a little to keep from hitting his head. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Caduceus said apologetically. He made no attempt to enter the room, only smiled placidly when Caleb turned his attention to him.

“Ah, well. Let us just say that after today I am a little jumpy.” Caleb reached up to gingerly touch his black eye--a wound neither Jester nor Caduceus could heal as they had both expended their divine powers by the time Caleb had been punched. 

“Understandable.” 

“ _ Ja. _ ” 

There was an awkward moment that passed slowly where Caleb sat twisted in his chair and Caduceus stood hunched in the doorway and neither made an attempt to bring them into the same room. Finally, with foolishness creeping up his spine, Caleb stood.

“Would you like to come in?”

“If you don’t mind,” Caduceus replied, even as he ducked under the door frame and entered the room. Once inside he sat on the side of the bed and looked up at Caleb, legs stretched out, hands loosely gripping the edge of the bed. “I saw what happened today after you cast the fireball.”

“Ah.”

“Now, I don’t know what it is about fire that makes you react that way, and I’m not going to ask, because I figure if it was something you wanted everyone to know about, I’d already know.”

“An astute observation,” Caleb said as he returned to the desk chair to turn it towards Caduceus before sitting.

Caduceus nodded. “Well, I was thinking I might tell you a story about fire.”

“Oh really?” Caleb raised one brow, propping an elbow on the table and resting his hand on it. Weariness lay in the creases around his eyes, the bruised one still ached and he, like the clerics, had spent his entire reserve of arcane magic, leaving him tapped out and exhausted. Just the same, he politely listened as Caduceus began.

“You see, a couple years before the corruption really began to take hold in the forest around the graveyard, there was a massive forest fire.” Caduceus shifted slightly, crossing his ankles as he spoke. “Started by some spark, maybe lightning, maybe some adventurer had lit a fire and not put it out properly. Either way, a fire nearly destroyed the entire forest surrounding my home.”

“I am sorry to hear that.”

“It was fine.” Caduceus gave Caleb that familiar smile, mild and slightly distant. That smile always offered a bit of peace, and he hovered on it before flicking his gaze back to his eyes.

“Well. As you can imagine it was devastating. We relied on that forest for a lot--vegetables, herbs, and the knowledge we could learn from the beasts and plants. There were a lot of trips to Shadycreek Run that year, a lot more than usual...a lot more than we’d prefer to take.”

“Having been to Shadycreek Run, I understand.” Caleb glanced from Caduceus to the doorway, where he’d heard some noise, only to see Fjord walk by with a plate of food, not bothering to look into Caleb and Nott’s room. The wash of anxiety that floated over him upon hearing the noise eased knowing it was just a member of the Mighty Nein. The closer they got to returning to the empire, the more that anxiety grew.

“Well, the strangest thing happened the next year. Despite the devastation the year prior, stuff began to grow. But not just the same plants we had seen before, new things that had never grown there, not in my lifetime, at least.” Caduceus leaned forward as he continued, catching Caleb’s gaze and holding it. “It turns out that there are certain plants that drop seeds that are so thickly coated in resin that they need intense heat to let the seed actually reach the soil and sprout. So, even though fire destroyed huge swaths of forest, it gave a dormant life a chance to live.”

With furrowed brows Caleb listened closely. “I’m not sure I...”

“That’s the thing about fire, Mr. Caleb. It can be devastating, but it also brings life. It’s not always just a destructive force. It’s powerful, it can be terrifying, but we’d all be very cold without it.”

“I’m not sure it’s quite as simple as that,” Caleb said, holding back a sigh. But there was something in Caduceus’ words that touched him, not least of which was the fact that Caduceus had come specifically to try to comfort him. “But I appreciate the sentiment. It gives me something to think about.”

Caduceus nodded. “I’m always happy to help, even if it’s just a little.”

“ _ Ja _ , I have noticed that about you.” Caleb cleared his throat and looked to the doorway again. “It is a good quality.” After staring at the rectangle of light for a while he turned his attention back to Caduceus. “I have noticed something else, as well.”

“Oh?”

“ _ Ja _ . I am afraid I have not been very kind to you.”

“I would say the opposite.”

“Well. I may not be a very perceptive man, but I can tell when someone looks at me a certain way.” He paused, standing and turning away from Caduceus as he felt heat bloom on his cheeks. “Since I gave you the necklace, you have, well, I believe you have been showing interest.”

“Guilty,” said Caduceus from behind him, almost cheerfully. “I’m not very good at being subtle, am I?”

“I suspect it can be hard to be subtle when one is as tall and colorful as you.”

“That sounds like a good a reason as any.” There was a shuffling noise from behind Caleb as Caduceus stood. “I’m sorry if I’ve been making you uncomfortable.”

“No, that is...” With a deep breath, Caleb turned to look up at Caduceus, at his placid face and pretty hair, tendrils hanging in his eyes until he raked them back. “That is...quite the opposite.” This time there was a visible flush on the ear and cheekbone not covered by pink hair, and it almost made Caleb sigh with relief at knowing he wasn’t the only one flustered. “It’s just. You see. This is why I believe I have been unkind. I ought to have said something sooner. It has been some time since I noticed and as rejection has never been my intention I shouldn’t have let this go on so long that--”

Caleb stopped rambling when he realized Caduceus was approaching him. It was all Caleb could do not to step backwards in a reflexive desire to maintain his large bubble of personal space. His heart rate ticked up and he glanced again at the door, this time nervous that someone might walk in on whatever was going to happen next.

Side-stepping Caduceus, Caleb took the short distance to the door and closed it, taking a slow, careful breath as he looked at Caduceus, backlit by the fire in the hearth, all lanky limbs and pink hair and gentle, gentle eyes.

“I am  _ not _ a good choice for a partner,” Caleb said, trying to keep his voice from wavering. It took a lot to not open the door again and flee, to not hide himself behind his books and his caution and to not politely dismiss Caduceus’ attention. The thing was, there was something of fire in Caduceus too. Not a forest fire but a warm hearth, the kind a cat could stretch out in front of for hours on end and be satisfied with its crackling glow.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Caduceus said gently. He kept his distance, waiting for Caleb to make the decision as to what would happen next.

Caleb closed his eyes, and when he opened them he stood in front of Caduceus, close, with no afterthought given to that bubble of personal space. “But, if you are willing to believe that, then perhaps...” Caleb reached out and carefully took one of Caduceus’ big hands between his own. “Then perhaps we might see where things go.”

Despite being backlit, Caduceus’ bright smile illuminated the short distance between them. Caleb could see the glint of gold against his neck where the periapt of wound closure hung tucked into his shirt. In an electric moment Caduceus bowed his head a little, moving towards Caleb’s face, and Caleb felt his heart in his throat as he realized that Caduceus was going to kiss him.

He took half a step backward, his heart pounding rabbit-quick, and was only just able to contain a gasp when, instead of kissing him, Caduceus gently rested his forehead against Caleb’s own. His cheek tickled where Caduceus’ soft hair brushed against it.

“I am fond of you, Mr. Caleb,” he said in a near whisper, and a pleasant shudder ran down Caleb’s spine. “I am also a very, very patient man.” Caduceus straightened up and gave one of Caleb’s hands a soft squeeze before letting his own fall to his side. “I said I wanted to be there to help the world shape you into whatever form it intends to, and I meant that. All that might change is the way in which I’m there.”

There was a long moment where they stood together, silently, and Caleb once again reached out for Caduceus’ hand. This time he slid his fingers between Caduceus’ and held it that way, dropping his guard for the barest moment as Caduceus stroked his thumb.

“Okay,” Caleb said finally, releasing Caduceus’ hand and straightening himself up, adjusting his coat and scarf as if it needed it. “ _ Ja,”  _ he said, answering nothing and noone. Understanding, as he so often understood things, Caduceus began to exit the room. He stopped at the doorway and before he opened the door he glanced back at Caleb. 

“You’re very cute when you blush,” he said, giving him a different smile this time, a sweet and private one.

Caleb felt a rush of fire burst in his chest and climb his neck and face. Caught between wanting to disappear into his coat and wanting to say something in return, maybe about Caduceus’ hair or his delicate hands or his knowing eyes, he settled on saying nothing and sitting back down in front of his books. He offered Caduceus a weak wave coupled with a genuine smile as he left, turning back to his book, eyes focused in the middle distance as he fanned his flaming cheeks with one hand.

Patience was good. He knew he needed it, and knowing Caduceus could provide it was comforting. But.  _ But. _ Would it have been so bad? That moment where he thought Caduceus was going to kiss him ran through his head. Would they have bumped noses? How soft would Caduceus feel? Would that low voice have rumbled at him the way it did in his ear when their foreheads were touching? 

The door opened then and Caleb turned slowly, convinced that Caduceus had come back, but instead Nott stood with two plates of food, offering one to Caleb. 

“You’ll never guess what Jester just did,” Nott began as she entered the room. 

“I’m sure I couldn’t, so why don’t you tell me?” 

As Nott began to talk Caleb felt himself beginning to feel normal again, his heart rate slowing, the knot in his stomach loosening up, but even as he hung on her words, a tiny voice in the back of his head asked  _ what will it be like when he actually kisses him? _


End file.
